Jar Jar Bricks

This is a project meant to be paired with my novelization of TROS. A greater rundown of the overall goals in my version of the sequel trilogy can be found there. In a nutshell, though, Kylo’s fascination with Vader plays a prominent role in that novelization. Kylo is meant to be the “stand-in” character for Anakin, since I feel that the saga should be entirely about him.

As a result, I knew while writing that novelization that I would likely have to go back and write a version of TLJ for these ideas to remain consistent throughout the whole trilogy. TFA’s novelization works fine on its own, since the idea I had was that he was more brainwashed by Snoke then (thus why he might believe following Vader meant being an apprentice). It’s only in this story where he develops his own plans, and I want him to realize that following Vader actually means establishing his bloodline as the sole rulers of the galaxy.

Another change I made with my project of TROS was having Rey be more insecure about herself, and relying on the validation of others to an unhealthy extent. I am planning on emphasizing this idea more in this novelization, especially when her parents are revealed to be nobodies that sold her off for drinking money.

This edit will be based on Poppasketti’s The Last Jedi: Rekindled. His changelog will carry over to this project for the most part. Deleted scenes and bonus content from the expanded edition will also be included where I feel it is necessary. Furthermore, I am planning on making some slight adjustments to Luke’s character/actions. Nothing too drastic, but rather more to make him more intriguing and believable. For example, he gives the Skywalker lightsaber back to Rey and tells her to “leave this island” instead of tossing it off a cliff. It achieves the same effect, but indicates that Luke respects his father while still being devoted to letting the Jedi end.

I am planning on releasing multiple chapters at once for feedback (the original novel is divided up into parts like that). I greatly appreciate any suggestions and feedback so long as they align with the goals of this project.

The music gets distorted for like 3 seconds. Just watched it again. Sometimes it does it and sometimes it doesn’t. So it’s probably an issue on my end. It’s the latest version (says I got it on January 24th). 1080p. I wouldn’t worry about it.

I appear to have stumbled upon corrupt audio at 1:06:40. It lasts for a few seconds. I’ve replayed it multiple times so it’s not an issue with my video player.

DominicCobb said:

CaptainFaraday said:

Maybe I’m just a killjoy, but the Kylo one doesn’t sound any better to my ear than someone doing a barely passable Adam Driver impression. To the point where I actually thought it was whoever had made the video introducing it first, until I realised it sounded “off” in the way that AI voices can’t quite get the inflections of sentences right.

I would say that it does actually sound just like Adam Driver, just happens that the inflection makes it clear it’s AI. That said, there’s a difference between what Adam Driver sounds like and what Kylo Ren sounds like.

But since we never hear Ben Solo say a single line, we can always look past that 😉

Shaddy Zaphod said:

I’ll say that’s one of the more-impressive AI voices I’ve ever heard, but I’m wondering if it’ll get the inflection necessary for a line like that.

That’s what I was thinking. But at the same time, it’s a pretty simple sentence, so I feel like the AI might be able to pull it off.

Yeah I’d like to hear Ben say “Noones ever really gone” just after he dies like in the novel. That’s some impressive stuff.

Is that a travel case? I was under the impression that it was a preservation chamber.

DominicCobb said:

NeverarGreat said:

That would be very possible if it were a simple zoom or panning shot, unfortunately it’s much more complicated so significant castle damage would probably have to be modeled in 3d and tracked onto the existing shot. Needless to say it’s a bit beyond my capabilities.

A thought I had was potentially just tracking some cracked/crumbly textures onto it, so at least it doesn’t look so pristine.

Yup, that would be better than nothing.

Even if it doesn’t pan out, no biggie. It’s clear that cultists have been living in the area for some time since they grew an entire forest, so we can always create our own canon in which they were the “caretakers” of Vader’s castle if you will.

Have to agree with Sherlock for once. I think we should stick with Luke Skywalker being the mythical figure that inspires the galaxy (since it’s a continuation of the previous film).

sherlockpotter said:

I’m interested in seeing how it would look without English; I’m just saying - I think we need to consider what’s best for a first-time viewer, rather than what we might “personally,” aesthetically, prefer. The most important thing is that the message comes through to the audience, and I can’t imagine many folks out there know how to read Aurebesh.

And Jar Jar, English was in the very first Star Wars movie, as I pointed out in my clip above. So it’s definitely a canon language. (And again, I think clarity is the most important aspect here; there’s no point of adding all of this if it’s unintelligible to the audience. That would look like a fan edit.)

It’s not a canon language (at least based on what is seen purely in the intended films). It was replaced because GL realized that it shouldn’t be there. One of the few things the special editions did right.

Besides, I’m not saying that we should just put aurebesh there. Yeah, that would be unintelligible and stupid. It should be that plus an image. The image is the real meat of it. I agree with everyone else that the right picture can tell a thousand words.

Just wanted to chip in by saying that plain English text is a bad idea (mostly because it’s not seen anywhere else throughout the saga). Would be pretty immersion breaking, and scream, “This is a fan edit!”.

Theoretically, you should be able to glean everything you need to know from the graffiti art. So maybe Luke with the blue lightsaber or a man in front of a walker like what was suggested elsewhere.

Hal, you might as well add Sherlock’s Poe line change to the list of things that would need to be changed to accommodate the dagger stuff. Otherwise it would be quite hilarious if even the characters don’t know why they need the dagger again.

sherlockpotter said:

Jar Jar Bricks said:

omnimuffin said:

Hal 9000 said:

Just sent the auralnauts a cordial message asking if they’d be at all interested.

It seems like if we did redub 3PO, it would open the question of how Kylo knew to go to Endor. Although, honestly… it’s hard to care too much about it anyway. The film doesn’t answer this other than allowing one to guess Kylo also had it translated. It does, however, establish then and there that Kylo “know[s] where she’s going” at least. That would be missing from this cut. It seems like the cost for reinstating it here would be to also reinstate the premature reveal that Chewie is alive.

Another issue is that 3PO translating the inscription doesn’t give the characters any solid information. In the theatrical, it provided important information and the heroes had to have both that knowledge and the blade itself. In this proposed plot revision, they would essentially only learn that they… need to get the blade back. All they’d learn is that Rey needs to tap into darkness somehow. Feels a little muddy.

It does seem like this muddies the movie more than it cleans it up. Personally, I’d just accept the doofy Goonies-style treasure clues as a cheesy but essential element of the movie and leave that portion relatively intact, because much of the movie is structured around them.

No kidding. Nobody says “well now we have to get the dagger back” after 3PO’s message plays (in fact, they seem more happy about the message than anything since Babu celebrates). Furthermore, Finn even questions why Rey is heading off to explore the ship by saying “Chewie is this way.” Never at one point do the characters say “go look for the dagger.” It’s always “We’re coming, Chewie” and “go save your friend”.

It’s honestly quite mind-boggling how much this movie relies on the dagger giving an exact answer.

Does Babu give a frak that the Wayfinder is on Endor? I thought he just cheers because his hack worked.

And all you’d need to do is swap in some new Poe dialogue. From:

Rey: We need the dagger.
Poe: Why?
Rey: A feeling.

To:

Rey: We need the dagger.
Poe: You know where?
Rey: A feeling.

Like I’ve said, I just don’t see how the dagger translation not explicitly telling them what to do is more contrived than an ancient Sith Artifact listing the exact coordinates of the 30-year-old Death Star.

Except Poe’s line is said on screen. So it’s highly unlikely that would end up looking right.

I just think it’s a whole lot of trouble and removal of stuff for absolutely nothing of value in return. Clearly I’m not bothered as much by all the intricacies of the dagger. In the context of the film itself, it’s only referred to as Ochi’s dagger, so it’s not ancient necessarily for the average viewer. And even if it is ancient, I’m willing to head cannon an easy answer as for why that is on there, such as that he wanted to engrave something cool onto it in Sith.

All I know is that I’ll definitely have to create v1.5 of Ascendant if this ends up going through in the end. Will probably have plenty of audio pops, but ah well. Worth it to avoid the murkiness of all this (and don’t get me started on why again! lol)

BrotherOfSasquatch said:

You know, with all this Lando talk… Is there anyway to incorporate that “Come on Chewy… One last time.” scene that I think was definitely in the BTS material and might have been in a TV Spot?

Unfortunately there were lots of cameras and stuff in that scene. Somebody would have to do some insane VFX/cropping.

Also, it’s “You said it, Chewie.” So that kinda implies we’re missing a Chewie growl beforehand. I suppose one could edit that in.

EDIT: Actually that might be in the BTS clip already. Haven’t seen it in a while.

omnimuffin said:

Hal 9000 said:

Just sent the auralnauts a cordial message asking if they’d be at all interested.

It seems like if we did redub 3PO, it would open the question of how Kylo knew to go to Endor. Although, honestly… it’s hard to care too much about it anyway. The film doesn’t answer this other than allowing one to guess Kylo also had it translated. It does, however, establish then and there that Kylo “know[s] where she’s going” at least. That would be missing from this cut. It seems like the cost for reinstating it here would be to also reinstate the premature reveal that Chewie is alive.

Another issue is that 3PO translating the inscription doesn’t give the characters any solid information. In the theatrical, it provided important information and the heroes had to have both that knowledge and the blade itself. In this proposed plot revision, they would essentially only learn that they… need to get the blade back. All they’d learn is that Rey needs to tap into darkness somehow. Feels a little muddy.

It does seem like this muddies the movie more than it cleans it up. Personally, I’d just accept the doofy Goonies-style treasure clues as a cheesy but essential element of the movie and leave that portion relatively intact, because much of the movie is structured around them.

No kidding. Nobody says “well now we have to get the dagger back” after 3PO’s message plays (in fact, they seem more happy about the message than anything since Babu celebrates). Furthermore, Finn even questions why Rey is heading off to explore the ship by saying “Chewie is this way.” Never at one point do the characters say “go look for the dagger.” It’s always “We’re coming, Chewie” and “go save your friend”.

It’s honestly quite mind-boggling how much this movie relies on the dagger giving an exact answer.

jadenkorr41 said:

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Eh, whatever. The only reason I brought it up is because I enjoy having Kylo being independent from Palpy with his own goals and motivations. And since he’s the Supreme Leader of the First Order, I prefer to have them be two distinctly different organizations. One much more concerned with militarism, and the other wanting to instate a Sith Empire.

But that’s neither here nor there.

fair enough, like underlying thoughts and there were hints of that in the movie of Kylo having his own agenda etc. which makes it cool. In regards to the topic,it is lando’s transmission to the galaxy. What the galaxy has heard was “the final order begins” as in, in the galaxy’s POV, they dont know the final order is an organization, they think it’s a revolution/time era change. I think it could be either first order or final order and it would’ve had the same effect on any receiving end. Let’s rally up to take down the bad guys.

Sure. I get that. Especially since our edits remove Palpatine’s message to the galaxy from the opening crawl, most people only know about the First Order.

But in the context of the original film it does make me wonder why they wrote Lando’s lines that way. Unsure.

Cinefy said:

Jar Jar Bricks said:

Wouldn’t they be fighting the Final Order though? Like, the only First Order present on Exegol are on the Steadfast.

to have an idea / creative thought be broken down into a thousand pieces no matter what it is every time gets abit jarring.

Making one measly suggestion/observation is considered that? Like I said, the audio is great, but that was my one reservation with it. I figured voicing my concern might have been worth something, but I guess not. Sorry.

Eh, whatever. The only reason I brought it up is because I enjoy having Kylo being independent from Palpy with his own goals and motivations. And since he’s the Supreme Leader of the First Order, I prefer to have them be two distinctly different organizations. One much more concerned with militarism, and the other wanting to instate a Sith Empire.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Nah I was mostly referring to everybody else’s discussion about this Lando audio. It sounds great, but I’m not sure the end of this movie is the right context for it since they technically aren’t going up against the First Order.

Wouldn’t they be fighting the Final Order though? Like, the only First Order present on Exegol are on the Steadfast.

Hal 9000 said:

Another issue is that 3PO translating the inscription doesn’t give the characters any solid information. In the theatrical, it provided important information and the heroes had to have both that knowledge and the blade itself. In this proposed plot revision, they would essentially only learn that they… need to get the blade back. All they’d learn is that Rey needs to tap into darkness somehow. Feels a little muddy.

This is my biggest issue with it all tbh. Eliminating the dagger as the most obvious reason for how Kylo knew where she went isn’t as important as potentially eliminating the entire point of the whole Kijimi side mission (and 3PO’s sacrifice, at that)

Like, it opens up a whole can of worms. Why did the vision only show itself to Rey on the Steadfast instead of on Pasaana? If you say it’s because of 3PO’s translation, I don’t really buy that. What exactly does “embrace the darkness” mean, and why didn’t she qualify for it before? It’s a very vague concept since we don’t have any real life comparison.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think it’s wise to have the vital piece of information the heroes were trying to get for a portion of the movie end up being some abstract concept. Something more concrete is easy to understand and speeds things along without any questions asked.

I hate to say it, but I feel like you’d be creating biggers problems by trying to patch this small one.

NeverarGreat said:

Here’s the establishing shot replacing all three of the previous shots.

https://vimeo.com/557008192

Password: fanedit

I ramped the speed another 25% or so, and keyframed the vertical movement to play with the extra space and make it more dynamic. The only thing that’s missing are the TIE fighters.

If we wanted to keep the final TIE forest shot, it might work to just cut the first part of the castle shot and shift it to make room.

I think it’s perfect with just the biomes footage. But it’s hard to say that for sure I suppose until the TIEs are put in.

Cinefy said:

NeverarGreat said:

Here’s the Mustafar Establishing shot:

https://vimeo.com/556942186

Great stuff, only thing that gets me is Director Krennic’s Shuttle just parked there, hoping Popsketti can do us some First Order Tie Fighters when the time comes.

Honestly it’s such a small detail that you could call it an Easter egg or simply an abandoned shuttle that was left there after the Empire fell.

If we want perfection, then yeah might be good to remove it.

Nindroid243 said:

Can I have a link to this?

PM sent!

Hal, I see axlanian sent you some audio for the 3PO/stormtrooper scene in the “things I still need to do” section. What sequence of lines did we end up going with?

Oh, and congrats on 9000 posts!